Elderly care: the Government is punishing couples again
By Max Wind-Cowie, Telegraph
The government's pledge to cap social care funding risks further alienating middle class families already reeling from having their child benefit cut and marriage tax break postponed, writes Max Wind-Cowie.
One month after the Coalition’s ‘mid-term review’ sidestepped a pledge to cap social care funding, it appears the Government are finally willing to show their hand.
Today's announcement will impose a limit of £75,000 on the amount that individuals will have to pay towards their own care – after which point, the state will cover further costs.
Demos analysis shows a cap set at that level is miserly, helping only 16% of older people.
However, there remains another significant problem – one that risks further alienating the kind of middle class families already reeling from having their child benefit cut and marriage tax break postponed. The scheme contains a hidden penalty for couples, and for their children.
Any cap would be calculated at the individual level. Each of us requiring social care in old age will be asked to fork out up to £75,000.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
